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blademan 13

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Jan 25, 2000
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I get the honor of accompanying my 8 yr. old daughter on a father/daughter hike this Saturday with her Brownie troop. And get this, the release form instructed me to bring a "jack knife", as the fathers would be showing their daughters the proper use of this tool. Is this cool or what! I find it refreshing in this day and age, that some people still consider the value of teaching children to use knives an important part of growing up. I am happy to report that my daughter is very interested in my hobby and I often take the time to leaf through the knife mags with her and to discuss their contents. She will be carrying my SOG mini-Autoclip (my most appropriate 8 yr. old knife) this weekend and I my Sebenza. Friday night she will get her first sharpening lesson and we may even whittle a few branches. I have already decided on getting her an offical "Scout knife", but have also been toying with the idea of buying her a folder of her very own. I would prefer this to be a lockback for security, and her little hands do not function all that well with liner-locks. And, as she is every bit my wife's little girl, it should be pretty
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!Anyone have any suggestions?

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It's only a mistake if you fail to learn from it!
 
You can't go wrong with a Case.
One of the good thing about those is that they come in so many colors, your daughters is bound to find something she likes. I would take a look at Buck lockbacks too.

[This message has been edited by edrozen (edited 05-18-2000).]
 
Congrats, sounds like a fun filled day and a good way to spend it too!

My youngest is also 8, and she has a respect and admiration for knives and knows what most blade shapes are and always likes to work with leather when I'm working on sheaths, she is a cutie!

I just bought a knife from a fellow formite that might just fit the bill you are looking for, the Buck Prince model is a real sweet knife, tail lock, very pretty wood scales, bolsters front and back, all stainless construction and mine I just finished up on a fine ceramic stone and man does it pop the hair off at the top. For the price you can't beat one of these, only around $30 which might include shipping from some of these places, or even a Dick's Sporting goods might carry it.

Good luck in your search and let us know how the other dads fair at this excursion....

G2

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"The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions!"
Take the time to read your Bible Now, don't be left behind...

G2 LeatherWorks
 
The Benchmade 705 is nice: the Axis lock is easy and safe to operate, and the smoothness afforded by the mechanism makes it easy for a young child to open. I'd say that another benefit would be that your daughter could 'grow into' it, as it is medium-size, rather than small, but you'd probably rather have an excuse to buy her another one in a few years.

Also, consider the Swiss Army Knives. I carried a Victorinox Explorer for quite a while before I got interested in better knives. Probably a little big for an 8-year-old, but they have smaller models, as well (although I don't know if any of the smaller knives lock).

--JB

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e_utopia@hotmail.com
 
I recently gave my daughter who is a Junior Girl Scout her first knife. It's an Imperial Camper. The occasion was for an all day training session including use and care of the "jack knife" as the Girl Scout handbook calls them. I got to teach the class as I am associated with Boy Scouts and routinely teach Totin' Chip.

Only a few of the girls had their own knives but the class went well and the girls did fine.

My daughter also now has a little Swiss Army Classice and a 3 blade stockman that has a "pretty" (as she called it) wood handle.

I gave my nephew an Official Boy Scout pocketknife when he bridged from Webelos to Boy Scouts. He made a belt pouch for it and I suspect that if he can manage to hang on to it, he will have it all his life.

I love to teach kids about knives. When I teach Totin' Chip I go beyond the requirements and make them do everything hands on. I also tell them about the law and inform them of the law in the jurisdiction where they live as it pertains to knives. Some of those boys have their father's and grandfather's Boy Scout knives.

A knife. Amazing.

 
Jackknife, man, that's a term I haven't heard for a while! Makes me feel young again
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How about a Buck Knife for a lockback? There are many small ones and some nice handles on them a well. Case would also be a good choice, just Buck uses a little better steel in their blades.

Have fun and enjoy, nothing like spending time with your children!
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" Knife Collectors Are Sharp People - Most of the time that is! "

( THERE IS NO FEELING LIKE AN APOGEE FEELING! )
 
I envy your day with your daughter. They grow up too fast. Now take along a good Leatherman pocket tool and be the envy of the troop.
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While you're at it, educate a few of the other fathers, spread the fever!

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It's never too late to have a happy childhood!
Terrill Hoffman Knife Photography http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumList?u=243110
 
Can't go wrong with a SAK with a locking blade, like one of the wenger packlocks. Good multi-purpose tool, not too intimidating for a child to carry (won't make teachers or others nervous) and reasonably inexpensive.
Of course a wenger nomad was my first pocket knife, so I'm not biased at all.
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Yeah, "Jack knife" was a very common term when I was a kid too. I was surprised to see the term in the Girl Scout Handbook.

 
Both my Girlscouts (7&9) own Sak's they wear them on straps around their necks when we go camping. They really like to sharpen their own marshmellow sticks! There is alot to be said for a locking blade I'll admit, but with these I was able to start them out with the small blade which I feel gives them more control.
 
A couple of thoughts on the difficult to work lock which I've dealt with for my wife: My first choice would be an Opinel, the twist takes effort to engage but this is not that difficult. Cold Steel's version is nicer but opinel's have a greater variety of sizes and are cheaper. My wife's preference is a buterfly knife. She never did any fancy manipulation, she used two hands to open it (can you believe that!). Only proplem is here in CA they're considered switchblades. On switchblades the most popular one made in the US was a dimestore model with an inch and a half blade sold for womens sewing kits in the 40's and 50's. Legaly dificult and maybe not appropriate for a kid but an woman with small hands or a senior might like one of the little CA legal ones. When I was selling guns and knives in college, I sold a BM mini reflex to a woman who was particular about breaking here fingernails. I replaced my wifes butterfly with a CS ER1, good for here gardening since it's a stainless blade. I think it only comes serrated but, I think someone (maybe Boker) made a knife like it.
 
Originally posted by dov:
When I was selling guns and knives in college, I sold a BM mini reflex to a woman who was particular about breaking here fingernails. I replaced my wifes butterfly with a CS ER1, good for here gardening since it's a stainless blade. I think it only comes serrated but, I think someone (maybe Boker) made a knife like it.
Click to expand...

A little bit of history trivia, or rumor (?). IIRC, the original concept of the switchblade was developed in the 1800's (or even earlier?) for women who had long fingernails, but wanted to use a nice folding knife. They couldn't open a regular knife with the half-moon indentation, or if they tried, they broke the fingernails. So a guy developed a blade that could be opened by a switch.

Like I said, it might be a rumor, but I'm pretty sure that I read it in a gun (yeah, gun) rag a few years ago.

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iktomi
 
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